If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

HORRENDOUS AM RADIO RECEPTION IN 2005 PRIUS

About a year after purchasing my 05 Prius NEW, a noticed the AM radio reception had gotten suddenly terrible; and it has gone downhill from there to the point it is intolerable. We live in rural area and the problem is not as noticeable when in suburbia or the city; However, I have no similar experiences with any other vehicle. In fact, my 1987 Mazda p/u truck w/250K miles gets perfect reception in same locale. It seems to get worse when accelerating or when braking and it is okay while sitting in car w/only ignition on.
The dealer blows me off since the problem is not evident while in the part of town where they are.
I am certain there is something wrong, like an open/exposed wire or bad connection, but am now asking anyone out there if you have a clue to shed light on this worsening problem. It becomes more and more difficult to tolerate when playoff time comes and I cannot listen in the car. HELP PLEASE!!!!

You are not crazy! My father

You are not crazy! My father and I have 04 Prius and both have that issue. I find if I accelerate and come off a couple of times I can break the bad reception. My dealer chalked it up to poor reception in certain areas....

I had same experience after

I had same experience after a year or so with my 05. It is an RF sensitivity issue. The braking and accel only add more electronic noise that compete with the "weak" desired signal. Very cooperative dealer in NJ spent much time with me (at no charge!) pulling radio out and checking for bad grounds etc. Problem disappeared but we disturbed so many things that the cause was not determined. Problem came back after many months. I'm near NYC so I live with it. I'm knowledgable about electronics and know this one is not easy to find. I bought a 2010 to work around the problem

We have a 2004 Prius and had

We have a 2004 Prius and had a problem with the AM reception since the beginning. The Toyota dealer tells me each time I take it in, it is fine. No problem. We have a 2006 Prius and have no problems with AM reception. Does anybody have any ideas of how to hook up an am radio to my 2004 Prius? I like to hear the news. Thanks.

I've had the problem with a

I've had the problem with a 2005 Prius since it was new and have traced it to the transmission. If you are hearing the noise, shift into neutral and it goes away. No one seems to know a solution and aftermarket radios are only good if you don't have navigation...otherwise you lose it.

I also have a 2005 Prius and

I also have a 2005 Prius and starting noticing bad am reception after about a year. I have complained numerous times to the dealership to no avail. I also have noticed that if you shift into neutral (how else can you hear the stock market report on your favorite am news station) the problem disappears - or if you are stopped and your engine shuts off. Toyota's "everything is fine, bad reception" response to my requests for repair under warranty was very aggravating. Good car otherwise.

Had the same problem with

Had the same problem with our 05 Prius. LOUSY AM reception from DAY ONE. Only one usable AM station in the entire LA area (KFI-640), and it too was messed up by braking or accelerating.

Just had to have the dashboard computer replaced. Car would go into intermittant failure where all dashboard lights would go on and stay on, and car would not operate. After they replaced this computer, AM radio was better than new, and FM was far better too. Now getting every AM station in the LA area, and pulling FM from down toward San Diego.

Don't know if the bad computer was doing this all along, or if they found and fixed a loose wire or bad shielding on the comuter . . . or what.

Heat and AC

If you notice, when you use the heat or AC in the Prius, that is when the AM Radio is impossible to listen to. I have contacted Toyota about it before and they just gave me the run around until I gave up...

It should be a recall. Something ain\'t wired right in that thing....mine is an 05 btw